Student profiles

With over 4,000 international students from more than 150 countries, the University of Birmingham has one of the largest international student communities in the UK, so whether you are a UK student or travelling to Birmingham from overseas, you will work alongside fellow students with differing perspectives.

Latest student profiles:

I attended the Sustainable Local Economies evening seminar at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) at Cardiff University. This seminar speaker was Mr. Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services of the Welsh Government.

Thanks to Student Enhancement Fund I was able to participate in the "Alternative Careers Fair" that took place on 29th November in London and was run by Escape the City. The experience I gained was truly fascinating and helped me enhance my career prospects in various ways.

Upon the start of the MA course I was awarded a departmental bursary on the basis of my academic merit and potential to achieve academic excellence. Broadly, my academic interests lie in the interplay between the theory and praxis of political, social and ethical issues, with a particular focus on the sociology of technology and knowledge production, and the critique of neoliberalism.

Recent profiles:

2014/15

I attended the Sustainable Local Economies evening seminar at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) at Cardiff University. This seminar speaker was Mr. Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services of the Welsh Government.

Thanks to Student Enhancement Fund I was able to participate in the "Alternative Careers Fair" that took place on 29th November in London and was run by Escape the City. The experience I gained was truly fascinating and helped me enhance my career prospects in various ways.

Upon the start of the MA course I was awarded a departmental bursary on the basis of my academic merit and potential to achieve academic excellence. Broadly, my academic interests lie in the interplay between the theory and praxis of political, social and ethical issues, with a particular focus on the sociology of technology and knowledge production, and the critique of neoliberalism.

I have fulfilled my full potential at Birmingham, had so many new experiences, met great people and really enjoyed my course. There are so many different opportunities available to students and these have helped me develop exponentially.

The Sociology programme has enhanced my academic understanding, whilst equipping me for future employment. I hope to pursue a career within the local government, specifically working with either the young or elderly population.

One of the main aims of the Sociology Society is to provide academic support to our members. Our primary aims were to inspire 1st and 2nd year students to start to think about possible careers as well as offer 3rd year students the opportunity to ask questions as well as gain application/interview hints and tips.

MA students Alice Vogliotti, Satish Gurung and Pui Thanaporn Wiboonpote travelled to Boston and New York for the Model UN conference and to visit UN Headquarters. When they returned to Birmingham they Skyped with an alumnus about the realities of working in the UN. This is a report of their experiences.

2013/14

With the help of the Student Enhancement Fund I was able to travel to Vienna from 7 August 2014 to 14 August 2014 to attend the Muslim Jewish Conference (MJC). The fifth annual interfaith and intercultural MJC conference provides a framework for self-defining Muslims and Jews from all over the world to engage in dialogue about divisive issues.

In April 2014 I undertook a training program called 'Trust, Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation', organized by the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS) at the University of Birmingham.

Every two years, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) organises the Research Methods Festival where researchers from within and outside academia showcase and discuss their projects, in order to exchange ideas and discover new possibilities for social research.

My internship was by far the hardest experience I've ever underwent; when you're working for someone whose schedule frequently includes "meeting with POTUS" (President of the United States), you know that a lot is expected of you.

Thanks to the Student Enhancement Fund I had an opportunity to conduct a research of co-working spaces in Birmingham and London. I visited 3 amazing co-working spaces, all of them operating on a different business model, and having different experiences with running such places.

TEIMUN takes place at The Hague every year. I had the great opportunity to represent Sweden in the European Council. It has been a long week in which we managed to successfully pass two resolutions and a crisis decision.

During Easter 2014 the ICCS (Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Conflict Transformation) organised a 5 day conference at the University of Birmingham to help educate and train students and professionals about the different types of transforming international, national and community levels of conflict.

Tomislav Korman, a Masters student in Public Administration in the International Development Department of the School of Government and Society, attended the 2014 Stockholm Forum on Security and Development, organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation.

Written by By Tomislav Korman. This April more than 30 IDD masters students flew to Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in a field study organised with the help of IDD alumnus Dr Ali Ercan Ozgur, founder of IDEMA consulting. During this five-day study programme, more than fourteen speakers and nine host organizations shared their experience of government systems, business and public administration with the group.

Geraldine studied International Relations and graduated in 2012. During her degree she focused on the political side of the course and completed internships within MP's offices in Birmingham, as well as part time jobs in retail.

Being interested in both Sociological and Political ways of understanding the dynamics within societies, I chose to do a Joint Honours course which has not ceased to impress me with its variety of modules and other opportunities.

My enjoyment of the course has stemmed from my personal academic progress as well as the opportunity to explore a plethora of sociological, historical and contemporary concerns, such as; gender, ethnicity, technological innovation and class stratification.

As a mature student I was attracted to study sociology at the University of Birmingham by its great reputation, course content and campus. Birmingham is also a great place to live, with amazing food, music and opportunities which you can only get in a big city.

2012/13

The IEA is the UK's original free-market thinktank and its mission statement is "to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems". Andrew Marr credited the institute with being"...undoubtedly the most influential think tank in modern British history".

The project I was assigned during this internship focused on mapping the Third Sector organisations that are active in four different wards of Birmingham. This involved liaising with the managers of organisations, and other people involved in voluntary activities as well as local authorities such as councilors, police officers and policy advisors in order to gain as much information as possible regarding the level of cooperation between the 'public' and the 'third sector'.

After completing my undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations at POLSIS, I chose to continue studying at Birmingham at postgraduate level. I knew that by studying with POLSIS, I would continue to be challenged and encouraged in my studies; I also knew that I would benefit from both the expertise within the department and from the excellent academic teaching and a solid research base.

From my undergraduate experience, I already knew that the level of support that I would receive from the department would be high and I was also excited about the introduction of environmental governance and climate change politics modules (the political area that I did eventually want to focus on) helped to persuade me to come back.

I chose to study with POLSIS as the University of Birmingham has a rather high ranking in the subject field of Political Science. Before I applied to Birmingham I also read about the profiles of the professors and lecturers on the POLSIS website and learned that they have brilliant qualifications and experiences.

In addition to the full fee bursary that POLSIS offer, in 2013 we were also able to offer a £500 Masters fee reduction to a small number of final year Birmingham POLSIS students who had applied for postgraduate study with POLSIS. Megan Baxter(BA History and Political Science) was one of the recipients of this fee discount and is now studying for an MA in International Relations (Gender).

This summer I have been a Policy Intern in the Corporate Resources department at Birmingham City Council (BCC). As a Political Science and Sociology student, I have been interested in working in a Local Government institution. That was because I wanted to find out more about the possibilities and limitations of the public sector in collaborating with, and supporting community organisations. Given my current interests and knowledge generated from my two years of study at Birmingham I found that the internship met my expectations and provided valuable insights.

I recently took part in a Summer School in Prague on the subject of Crime, Law and Psychology. The location of Prague; a historic mediaeval city with a socialist past which had undergone a 'velvet revolution' for me proved an interesting polemic.

This summer, having just finished my Second year in Political Science, I had the fantastic opportunity to intern at GUIDE, a public affairs/ Government relations company in London. I was lucky enough to arrange the internship having been mentored on the university's mentor scheme.

I chose to study at Birmingham because for me it offered a great balance between being at the heart of a dynamic city, having a really large campus, a really large university with lots of activities, the politics department which I'm involved in is in the top ten of the country and of course, Birmingham is in the top three of the British University sports rankings, which is a big seller for me.

Georgiana Chiriac, an MSc International Development (Poverty, Inequality and Development) student in IDD reports on the activities undertaken as part of the delegation from the University of Birmingham to the Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN), Boston US, 2013.

The ASAP event held on the 20th of March was attended by around 15 students, from varying departments such as those of Literature and Political Science. The two speakers addressing the event were Bijaylaxmi Nanda (University of Delhi, via Skype) and Xinran from Mother's Bridge of Love, London.

Brami Van Crombrugge, an International Relations and Spanish 4th Year in POLSIS recently took part in the Model NATO Conference 2013 in Washington, United States, alongside fellow Government and Society students.

During the internship Ayesha's role was to create factsheets that would enable head office and the branch managers to better understand the characteristics of the small businesses that they lend to. She analysed data from the client applications as well as their stock information and loan data.

Iona-Cristina's two month placement focused primarily on practical work within the Fundacion Ciudadanos del Mundo organisation in Argentina. Iona-Cristina planned her opportunity through an agency called Connect-123. Iona-Cristina's duties included helping immigrants and refugees who were in positions of social and legal vulnerability.

Coming to study here it really helped me to understand different culture different food, different languages yes…we have students from China, we have students from Italy, we have students from England…all over the world! I said wow, this is really fantastic!

Nicholas Trigg, a Swiss student currently studying on our MA International Relations (Peacekeeping) programme, reflects on his experiences of moving to a foreign country and studying at Birmingham in POLSIS. Nicholas also completed his undergraduate studies in POLSIS.

The best advice for future students is, first of all, remember that everyone feels nervous so don't worry; secondly, you will make good friends; and finally, look forward to studying a really engaging and thought provoking subject.

By undertaking the module I gained a great insight into the security politics of South Asia from several perspectives; the lectures from South Asian experts and security practitioners were particularly insightful and their experience was helpful in providing a thorough understanding of the contemporary security issues that South Asia faces.

Members of the POLSOC (Politics Society) Committee highlight: What attracted them to study with POLSIS at Birmingham; their role in the society and what activities they've been involved with; the best parts about being in the society and how their involvement with POLSOC will help them after graduation.

I found that in both class discussions and group work the level of knowledge from everyone on the course was very high and it felt really great to be among outspoken and clever people! The additional parts of the course also set it above others classes I have taken.

I love the diversity of it and the choices of different things you can study. Particularly in POLSIS we've got an excellent range of academics doing all sorts of different interesting things. We do anything from political economy to international relations to political philosophy and I've really enjoyed the challenge of combining it all together. I think it's given me a really well-rounded experience.

I remember looking round Birmingham and particularly Muirhead and thinking wow, this is spectacular. It's modern, it's new and the University has an excellent reputation, POLSIS has an excellent reputation and that's what you want really, to know that you're in safe hands studying in a place where it has good facilities and excellent people teaching.

As an international student it was studying in a British university, getting a new experience and about POLSIS it was the whole, again, the fact that I was passionate about politics, that led me to come and study here and the POLSIS department.

I chose to study with CREES as I was looking for somewhere in which I could study Central Asian countries with a broad, comprehensive perspective. After browsing the Internet I concluded that Birmingham offered the best overall course for my particular interests.

Currently studying Contemporary Russian and East European Studies MSc. "CREES's programme contains a good balance, so it encourages students to build a foundation and broaden evenly understanding of Russian and Eastern European, CIS region studies."

I had high expectations when I arrived at IDD to begin an MSc in International Development, but my experience has been even better than I'd hoped. I have gained much more than a qualification: crucially, I have gained confidence.

Currently studying Contemporary Russian and East European Studies (The Caucasus and Central Asia) MSc. "I like the fact that the department is not too big, so you're not anonymous and the both the staff and the other students are very friendly and approachable. It's also a very international department, with students from many parts of the world. Some of the staff are from Russia and eastern Europe, which is of course a big plus."

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"I found that in both class discussions and group work the level of knowledge from everyone on the course was very high and it felt really great to be among outspoken and clever people! The additional parts of the course also set it above others classes I have taken."